From the moment Kai disappeared into nothing but ashes, Lloyd's world shattered. It didn't seem real. It couldn't be. He stood there, wide-eyed, his mind struggling to catch up with what had just happened.
Kai... he was gone. He had been their brother, their best friend, the one who had always been there, even when things seemed darkest. And now, in an instant, he had been erased from existence—by her. By Lyra.
Or at least, the person who used to be Lyra.
Lloyd couldn't breathe. His chest tightened as he stared at her, unable to fully process the scene in front of him. The girl who had grown up with him, fought alongside him, the one who had shared in their dreams and struggles... had just killed their closest friend without hesitation.
Lyra stood there, her hand still outstretched as if reaching for something that was no longer there, her expression blank—almost empty. But something about her seemed off, as if she was fighting some internal battle, struggling against something unseen. Her eyes were wide, and she was trembling. It wasn't fear or regret, though. It was like she was trying to escape from something within.
Lloyd took a step forward, his hands shaking, his throat dry. "Lyra... what have you done?" His voice came out in a choked whisper, barely louder than a breath.
She didn't respond immediately. Her eyes flickered, darting between the ashes and him, as if she couldn't quite understand what had just happened either. And then... she screamed.
It wasn't just a scream of pain or frustration—it was a scream of pure agony, filled with something dark and twisted. Shadows erupted around her, spiraling into the air in a chaotic dance, and her hands clutched at her head as if she was trying to tear something out. The dark energy swirling around her was so powerful, so overwhelming, that he could feel it in the air, making it hard to breathe.
"LET ME GO!" she cried out, her voice raw and ragged. "I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE!"
They all stood there, frozen, watching as she writhed in pain. Lloyd felt Harumi step closer to him, her hand gripping his arm tightly, her face pale. Zane and Jay stood nearby, their expressions filled with the same confusion and horror that he felt. None of them knew what to do. None of them could understand what was happening.
"Lyra!" he shouted, taking another step toward her. "What's going on? Talk to me!"
But she didn't seem to hear him. She was lost in her own torment, her body trembling violently as the shadows continued to lash out around her. The ground beneath her cracked and split, dark energy seeping into the earth like poison. And through it all, she kept screaming, her voice filled with despair.
"Please... please... let me go..." Her voice broke, and for a moment, Lloyd thought he saw a glimpse of the real Lyra—the sister he had known for so long—trying to break free. But just as quickly as it appeared, she was engulfed by darkness.
Then, as quickly as the chaos began, it stopped. Shadows swirled around her one last time, and without another word, Lyra vanished into a portal of darkness, leaving them all standing there in stunned silence.
Lloyd took a step back, his heart pounding in his chest. "Something's not right," he whispered, his voice trembling with fear. "This... this isn't Lyra..."
He looked at the spot where she had disappeared, feeling an overwhelming sense of loss. His mind raced, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. This wasn't just about Lyra anymore. This was something bigger... something ancient and terrible.
"Lloyd," Harumi whispered, her voice tight with emotion. "What do we do?"
He didn't know. His mind was racing, trying to come up with a plan, but nothing made sense anymore. This wasn't just about saving Lyra. This was about stopping whatever force had taken her—something dark and powerful that was now threatening to destroy everything they had ever fought for.
Weeks had passed since Lyra disappeared, and no one had any answers. She was simply... gone. With no leads, no signs, and nothing to go on, they were left only with their grief. The memory of Kai lingered heavily in the hearts of everyone who'd known him, and as days stretched into weeks, the painful truth settled in. Kai was gone, and there was nothing they could do to change that.
A small funeral was held for Kai, though it felt surreal to everyone in attendance. It was difficult to find words to say, especially for Lloyd. He was numb through the whole ceremony, standing silently beside Nya, Jay, and Zane. His friends offered their quiet support, but it felt like nothing could fill the void that had been left.
As Lloyd finally returned home to be with his mother, he found her struggling with her own grief. Misako hugged him tightly, trying to comfort him, but he could feel her pain just as much as his own.
Meanwhile, the city was grappling with its own turmoil. The rain that Lyra had unleashed in her last act before disappearing had given powers to countless people across the city. People were frightened and struggling to control these newfound abilities, resulting in chaos that stretched from one neighborhood to the next. The heroes had their hands full trying to restore order, but the shadow of Lyra's actions loomed large over them.
But far away from the world that was struggling to move on, Lyra found herself alone in a realm of darkness. She knelt on the cold ground, her body trembling as she clutched her arms, trying to hold herself together. Memories of Kai's death replayed in her mind over and over, a constant torment that made her wish she could tear her own thoughts apart.
"I didn't mean for this," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I didn't mean to lose you, Kai. I didn't mean to lose myself."
But as she spoke, the darkness around her seemed to thicken, pressing down on her as though alive, and then, slowly, a voice began to echo through her mind—a voice laced with malice, cold and cruel.
"You really thought you could escape me?" the voice sneered, sending a chill down her spine.
Lyra's eyes widened, her heart racing as she tried to shake the voice away. She didn't know if it was real or just her own mind torturing her, but it didn't matter. She couldn't bear to listen.
"Everything you touch will wither. Everything you love will fall to ruin," the voice continued, each word twisting deeper into her heart. "You think they'll forgive you? After what you did to him? After the chaos you left in your wake?"
Lyra gritted her teeth, her hands clutching her arms so tightly her nails dug into her skin. "Stop it," she hissed, barely able to hear her own voice over the pounding of her heart. "You don't know anything about me."
The voice only laughed—a cold, echoing sound that seemed to reverberate from every shadow around her.
"Oh, but I know everything about you, Lyra. I know your fears, your weaknesses. I know what you value, what you cling to." The voice paused, and she could feel its presence creeping closer, surrounding her. "And I am going to take it all away."
Lyra's breath hitched, her body going still as the full meaning of the voice's words sank in. She tried to push it away, to fight it, but it was as if the darkness was seeping into her very soul, rooting itself within her.
"You wanted to be strong, didn't you? You wanted power. But power has a price, and you are going to pay it."
"No," she whispered, her voice barely audible. But she knew that the voice spoke the truth. She had let this darkness in. She had allowed herself to be consumed by it, and now, it was stripping away the last fragments of herself.
"One by one, I will take everything you love," the voice taunted, its words laced with a cruel satisfaction. "Starting with the ones you once called friends. With every breath you take, they will fall. One by one."
Lyra's mind filled with visions of Lloyd, of her friends, of her mother—all of them suffering, all of them slipping away from her, just as Kai had. The images twisted into something darker, and she felt something snap within her, a part of her shattering into pieces.
The grief, the guilt, the horror of losing Kai—everything she had been holding onto crumbled, leaving behind only a hollow void. And into that void, the darkness crept, filling her with a cold, twisted sense of purpose.
She felt her lips curl into a smile—a smile that wasn't her own, a smile that felt sharp and cold.
"No," she said, her voice low and dripping with a newfound malice. "I won't lose anything. I'll make sure of it."
The last remnants of her sorrow faded, replaced by an icy resolve. If the world wanted to turn against her, if her friends wanted to stand in her way, then so be it. She didn't need them. She didn't need anyone.
And as she rose to her feet, a cruel laugh echoed in the darkness, sending a chill through the empty void.
"I'll take everything from them before they take it from me."